Improvement in apparatus for producing optical illusioms



C. W. & O. MCGLENNEN.

APPARATUS FOR PRoDUcING OPTICAL ILLUsIoNs. -No.187,884. PatentedPeb.z7.1a77.

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-Uivrriiin S'rnrns FFICE.

CHARLES W. MCGLENNEN AND OLIVE MCGLENNEN, OF HANOVERTON, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OPTECAL lLLUSIONS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. H,l, dated February 27,1877; application tiled January 3, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES W. Mo- GLENNEN and OLIVE MCGLENNEN, of Hanovertoii, in the county of Columbiana and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Theatrical Appliances forProducing Illusions; and we do hereby declare that the following` is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The design ot the invention is to produce illusive representations inconnection with real representations, or for producing illusions orrepresentations of' ghosts only. This we accomplish by means ot' anapparatus adapted for the purpose, the essential features of whichconsists of a stage-chamber, called an oven,77 (wherein persons act forproducing the illusions,) in combination with a receiving unsilveredglass, called a pebble, wherein the image of the person in the oven isreceived and exhibited, and a stage whereon actors eooperate with theillusions, and in this way ghost illusions are produced from invisiblepersons while acting in connection with persons visible. The developmentof such illusions, however, is only eii'ected by a device called a key,7and by which an attendant produces the mechanical eiect of transferringthe actor or actors in the oven and their actions to the pebble byraising the oven-lights and lowering the pebble-lights, the dispellingof the illusion being effected by raising the pebble-lights and loweringthe oven-lights.

In this apparatus the position of the pebble renders it invisible to theaudience, while the oven is also out of sight. The position of the ovenis intermediate with the pebble and the audience.

The apparatus operates upon a wel1-known .principle ofthe refraction oflight. The lights under the oven-shield shine full upon the actor in theoven, and if he be in a recumbent position therein he will appear in anupright position to the audience.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a verticallongitudinal section of the apparatus, and showing its relation to theaudience and the stage; Fig. 2, a partialplan section on line .n .c ot'Fig. i.; and Fig. 3, a section ot' a modified forni cl cast-ironovenshield and side wall.

The stage should be between four anu tive feet high, and at its frontporti-:in a chamber, A, is formed, which is called :in oven, the1nterior of which should he rendered dark by being lined with blackcloth or velvet.

The top of this oven is open, and has 1ncliiied light refraetiiig andconcealing shields B, beneath which are arranged gas pipes and jets a,so that the light therefrom is thrown down upon the bottom of the oven,(and at the saine time prevented from being thrown upward,) leaving theopen top ol the oven A unobstructed.

The invisible actors occupi this oven, and their performances areretracted upon a pebble-glass, C, arranged back of the oven, and at anangle of about forty-five degrees, the inclination oi' its top beingtoward the oven and the audience. At the base ot the-pebble is the stageD for the visible actors, the light for which is furnished by gas-jets bat the top of the pebble-traine, said gas-Jets being furnished withshields c, to throw the lightv upon the stage and to render theininvisible to the audience; but they are not designedto give light to thepebble or oven. A curtain, E, serves to shut oli' the stage whilechanging scenes and between acts. 'lhe curtain hangs down at all timessufficiently, as shown in Fig. 1, to screen the top lights of thepebble. The light in the oven is only raised to produce the illusions,and the pebblelights are then lowered. The control ot' the lights iseffected by an operator, who manipulates the key, and who is concealedfrom the audience by one ot' the side curtains F F, said key G beingarranged at one side oi' the oven A upon the inain supply-pipe, andconsisting of a series of set-cooks and control gas cocks, the set-cocksd permitting a small tlow of gas sufficient to keep the jets li ghted,and no more, while the control-cocks c e are manipulated by theoperatorthe one e connecting by pipef with the oven jet-pipe g, to raiseand lower the oven-lights. and the one e connecting by pipe h with thepebble jetpipe i, to raise and lower the pebblelights.

The pebble l is supported by any convenient framework G', as shown inthe drawings by dotted lines. ln Fig. 1 the oven is shown as havingcast-iron shields painted black underneath, if necessary, and cloth orvelvet side walls H; but We have shown in Fig. 3 a modiiication of suolioven-shield and wall, consisting of a bent sheet of cast-iron, formingboth shield and wall, the round curve tending to more thoroughly castthe light upon the bottom of the oven, the gas-jet pipes being supportedthereunder by brackets or otherwise. lIbis shield-wall should extendonly around three sides ot' the oven, leaving an opening under the stagefor the actors to enter the oven. This opening is hung with a cloth orvelvet curtain.

The operation of the apparatus is obvious from the foregoingdescription. The effect to the audience is that two or more figuresappear on the saine stage, one seeming as lifelike and well-defined asthe other until a cue is given and one vanishes. 0i' course, the livingsolid figure must not at any time thrust himself before or behind thepebble, but must keep to one side, and the living figure in the ovenniust not allow any part of his person to be covered by the oven-shield,else his counterpart visionary iig-ure will be marred. When desired. theactor in the oven may keep his head undei the shield B, in which casehis visionary counterpart would appear headless. The actors assume anyposition in the oven,

and two or more may act. A recumbent iig ure. gives an upright visionarycounterpart in the pebble. Gasoline may be used or any other suitablelight.

The oven must be so arranged as not to be seen by the audience, andpreferably a railing or bar should be placed at least twelve feet fromit in the auditorium, to prevent persons from looking over.

We claiml. An apparatus for producing optical illusions, consisting ofan open oven, A, inclined pebble C, stage D, and key G, for controllingthe oven and pebble-lights, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

2. In an apparatus for producing optical illusions, the combination ofthe oven A, consisting ot' shields, gas-jets, and dark-colored bottomand side walls and open top, with an inclined pebble or unsilveredmirror, provided with gas-jets, as described, the whole in combinationwith a controlling-key, G, consisting of set-cocks and control-cocks forregulating the light, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the inclined pebble C and its top jet-pipe t',of the frame G, substantially as described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have affixed our signaturesin presence of two witnesses.

CHAS. W. MOGLENNEN. OLlVE MOGLENNEN.

Witnesses A. E. H. JoHNsoN, J. W. HAMILTON JOHNSON.

